HIGHLIGHTS
- Connor McDavid remains without a new deal from the Edmonton Oilers
- The superstar spoke about the situation on Friday at training camp
- Read below to see his full comments
Connor McDavid is the best player in the world, so of course, the Edmonton Oilers want to re-sign their franchise cornerstone as soon as possible. After all, he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
But McDavid is clearly in no rush to ink a new deal as he weighs the best decision for his future. While the three-time Hart Trophy winner has voiced his commitment to the Oilers in past weeks, he once again explained on Friday why he’s taken his time in signing an extension with the back-to-back Stanley Cup finalists.
Via Sportsnet:
“Taking our time, and that’s going to be the answer for the next little bit here,” McDavid said. “When you’re trying to play in the next three, four, six, seven, nine years of your life, you don’t just dream it up one day. You take your time, talk it over, think about it some more, talk it over again, you know, it’s not something that I take lightly, it’s not something that my family takes lightly. I’ve put everything I have into my career. You only get one chance to do it and to do it right. And that leads to taking your time with it.”
McDavid made some comments after the Stanley Cup Finals defeat to the Florida Panthers that made some question if he’d be an Oiler long term. He also said “nothing needs to change” in the negotiations — he simply just doesn’t see this decision as something to rush:
“The easy answer is, nothing needs to change. Nothing. I don’t need to see anything,” McDavid said of the Oilers’ team construct, or what the horizon may look like in Edmonton, via City News Edmonton. “Time is on our side, and I’m just not in a rush to make a decision. We’re having lots of conversations, believe me, as a family, player and agent, (wife) Lauren and I…
“I’m just not in a rush to make this decision.”
With Leon Draisaitl locked up for the foreseeable future, he has his co-star right there beside him. July 1 was the first day he became extension-eligible, but it doesn’t sound like discussions have been negative, by any means.
For Oilers fans’ sake, the hope is that he signs a new contract sooner, rather than later. When McDavid does, he’ll likely ink the richest contract in NHL history.
